Cole
Roofing Company is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. Founded
in 1919 in Baltimore, Maryland, the company currently employs more than 100
workers and focuses on commercial roofing work, with a diverse portfolio that
includes single ply, built-up roofing, metal, wall panels, and renewable energy
systems.

In 2012,
William Robert Cole, known as Billy, took over the helm of the company from his
father, William Roland Cole, known as Bill. Billy Cole represents the fourth
generation of his family to run the business. As the company commemorated this
milestone, Bill and Billy Cole shared their memories of the company and insights
on the industry with Roofing.

100 Years of History

Bill’s
grandfather, John H. Cole Sr., founded the company as John H. Cole & Sons
after World War I. “My grandfather started the business in his basement making
ductwork for home furnaces,” Bill says.

The
business expanded to include gutters and downspouts, which led to installing shingle
roofing. “Near the end of World War WII, my grandfather died suddenly,” Bill recalls.
“All three of the older sons were off in the military. My grandmother, Mary
Cole, ran the business for about two years until the war ended and the sons
returned.”

Two of
Mary’s sons, John and Bud Cole, took over the business after the war. In the
50s, the company started installing BUR on row houses in Baltimore. In the 60s,
at Bud’s initiative, the company began doing commercial work. Bud bought out
his brother in the mid-60s, and the commercial side of the business continued
to grow as the residential side tapered off.

John H. Cole Sr. founded the company as John H. Cole & Sons in 1919.

“In the
late 70s, I saw an opportunity with the introduction of single-ply membranes,”
Bill says. “We shut down our residential side and trained all our steep roofers
to install single-ply roofing.”

Bill
Cole became president of the company in 1989 and continued to build the company,
expanding into metal roofing. After years of being known as Cole Roofing, the
company officially changed its name from John H. Cole & Sons to Cole
Roofing Company Inc. in 1998. The business has continued to diversify in the 21st
century, expanding into areas including green roofs, photovoltaic systems and
metal wall panels. Bill served as president until 2012, when Billy was named
president; Bill remains with the company as senior vice president.

Following in Their Father’s Footsteps

Bill remembers
being exposed to the business at an early age. “Sometimes on Saturdays when I
was 10 or 12, my dad would go out and look at jobs, and sometimes he would take
me with him,” Bill notes. He began working summers at the company in 1971 after
his sophomore year of high school. His starting wage was $2.75 an hour. He was
surprised to find out the laborer working alongside him — a college student —
was making $3 an hour. “I stormed into my dad’s office to ask him what the heck
was going on,” Bill recalls. “My dad didn’t even blink. He said, ‘Well, one day
you’ll be able to tell people you truly started at the bottom.’”

Cole Roofing Company is a fourth-generation family business. Billy Cole (left) is the company’s president. His father, Bill Cole (right), the former president, remains with the company as senior vice president.

Bill worked on
some of the company’s high-profile projects, including Baltimore City Hall, the
National Aquarium, M&T Bank Stadium and the U.S. Naval Academy. “We did
almost all of the slate roofs at the Naval Academy,” he notes. “Over the years,
we did a tremendous amount of work down there. We don’t do much slate anymore,
but back in its heyday, in the late 50s and 60s, we did a lot of slate work.”

Billy got his
first opportunity to work for the company at age 13, when he did odd jobs
including cleaning up the yard and cutting the grass. “I moved on to destroying
things with fork lifts, and then when I got my driver’s license, I moved on to
destroying things with pickup trucks,” Billy explains. “Thank goodness my dad
was patient.”

Billy worked summers
for Cole Roofing while in high school and continued to work at the company
while taking night courses at nearby Towson University. He decided to follow in
his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, and he’s found it a rewarding
experience.

“I had the
fortunate opportunity to learn a lot about succession planning and running a
family business from my grandfather and father,” Billy says. “I like what I do.
Roofing fills this need for people. You’re genuinely helping them when they need
it the most. People do need an expert to help them at that point, when water is
coming in their building and preventing them from functioning. It ranks high on
their crisis level.”

Adapting to a Changing World

Bill and
Billy Cole believe the company has thrived by staying on the leading edge — and
not the bleeding edge — of change in the industry. “We have always kept an eye
toward the future,” notes Bill. “We don’t always want to be the first — let
someone else work the bugs out — but we are never far behind.”

The
Coles point to three examples of key technological advancements over the years that
benefitted the company: embracing single-ply membranes, the early adoption of
computers, and taking a leading role in roof-related renewable energy.

The demand for green roofs has surged in the Baltimore and D.C. markets, and Cole Roofing adapted to help customers meet their needs.

“The biggest
change during my time was the introduction of single-ply membranes,” Bill says.
“We always treated single ply as a separate division because in our opinion the
skill set was so different. Retraining our steep roofers to be single-ply
roofers was a great move for the guys and the company.”

While some
companies abandoned built-up roofing entirely, Cole Roofing’s approach kept BUR
as a viable part of the company’s portfolio. “Built-up roofing never went away
from Cole Roofing,” Bill says. “As a result of that, we were able to use our
single-ply division to grow the company. We never gave up on built-up roofing.
It has stood the test of time.”

Bill readily
admits that adding computers benefitted the business, but he was not fond of
the idea at first. The company introduced computers to the accounting
department, and it snowballed from there. “We fought that change like almost
every other contractor I know,” Bill says. “Once we got into that world, it was
wonderful. Eventually they put a computer on my desk and I became the spread
sheet king. For a ten-year period, it really gave us a leg up on the competition.”

Under Billy’s
leadership, the company has focused on further upgrading its computer capabilities.
Billy also spearheaded a program to focus on living roofs and renewable energy,
including photovoltaics.

“Historically, I
saw where my grandfather and father felt it was important that if there was a
reliable, trustworthy product that got introduced into the roofing universe, we
needed to be able to provide that for our customers,” Billy says. “In the early
2000s, vegetative roofs started to pop up, and that made sense to us. We
believed there was a way to do it that would maintain the integrity of the roof
and still provide some ancillary benefits.”

Aided by
legislation in the Baltimore and D.C. markets promoting storm water management,
the green roof market surged. “That opened our eyes to the concept of using the
roof as a platform — as something other than the roof being just an umbrella
for your building,” Billy recalls. “Once I learned about solar and understood
the economics and the return, that made me gravitate toward the idea of
building small power plants on top of people’s buildings.”

A Culture of Safety

For all
of the company’s accomplishments, there is one that stands above the rest,
according to the Coles: the development of a comprehensive safety and loss
prevention program.

“Cole
was a leader in introducing real safety to the roofing industry,” Bill says. “It
all started when I met an insurance consultant named Ben Tyler in the late 70s.
He convinced me that we should be partners with our insurance companies, not
adversaries. I put together a subcommittee of field employees and supervisors,
and with guidance from Ben we built a comprehensive loss control program.”

The subcommittee
developed two manuals — a company handbook and a safety handbook — and the
experience changed the company. “It was an eye-opener, but we saw results,”
Bill says. “We’ve been told by the insurance companies that we have dealt with
over the years our experience mod was much lower than any other roofers that
they knew.”

Cole
Roofing was asked to give a presentation about its loss control program at the
NRCA convention in the mid 80s. “I got to know some of my competitors, and I
began to share some of the stuff we were doing,” Bill remembers. “People asked
us to share our program with them, and we freely did that. A lot of companies
are probably still running a version of the Cole Roofing safety program today.”

Cole Roofing
now employs a full-time loss control manager and two quality control
inspectors. “We all put safety first and provide support, training, and
accountability to the field team,” Billy says. “The field team has a culture of
brotherhood. They all look out for one another and are encouraged to hold each
other accountable, regardless of rank, to be safe and follow the rules. We
start with focusing on getting everyone back to their family every day;
compliance is a byproduct.”

Family Matters

Since announcing
the 100th anniversary, the Coles have been overwhelmed by the
outpouring of support from former employees and competitors alike. Bill chalks his
company’s successful track record to “keeping it simple.” He also points to a
company culture that emphasizes a strong work ethic and a commitment to its
employees.

“Somewhere along
the line, my dad made it clear to me that our biggest asset in our company was
its employees,” Bill says. “Running a family business is not easy. We’ve had
our trials and tribulations. I think the answer for us is that we have always
treated our employees as family, which better prepares us to deal with our own
family.”

For Billy, summing
up the formula for the company’s success is simple: “We put our integrity first.”

The green roof is a living ecosystem, and multiple species of sedum give it the best chance of success. The vegetative mat from ZinCo is pre-cultivated with about 12 to 16 hardy plant species.

SL Green Realty
Corp., the largest commercial landlord in New York City, is working with tenants across its NYC properties to achieve a 30-50
percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over 10 years. Green roofs are
playing a role in the effort, including one 44 stories up at 1185 Avenue
of the Americas.

The 1.1 million-square-foot commercial office building is
owned and managed by SL Green, a leader in urban sustainability. Among the many
environmental advantages of green roofs, they reduce the urban heat island
effect, ease storm water runoff, filter pollutants in rainwater and remove
carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the air. In addition, by lowering
building cooling demand, they can cut greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing electricity.

The
roof replacement project was completed in the fall of 2017, and key participants
shared their perspectives on the project, including representatives of four
companies:

1.
The Realty Management Company

Daniel Huster, Senior
Project Manager, SL Green Realty Corp.

Before the new Kemperol waterproofing membrane could be installed, the existing bituminous roof needed to be removed down to the concrete deck. Photo: Nations Roof LLC.

SL Green has an on-site team that manages 1185 Avenue of the Americas. I handle all the construction within the building and several others in our portfolio. The old (bituminous) roof was past its warranty. It had absorbed water, and we were showing signs of leaks in our mechanical room and the spaces below. We engaged CANY to put together a package to design and replace the roof system. They specified a reinforced waterproofing membrane from Kemper System America Inc. for the main roof, and we also asked CANY to bid with a green roof on top.

Green roofs are uncommon at such heights.
What convinced SL Green?

When we originally
put the RFP out for roofing renovation, we asked for the green roof as an
alternative. After the group
considered all the advantages and then saw the pricing, we made a collective
decision that it was worthwhile to pursue.

SL Green already
has two buildings in New York with green roofs — 100 Park Avenue and a
vegetable garden at 1515 Broadway near Times Square. But those are setback
roofs at much lower elevations. The roof at 1185 is essentially rectangular, so
this was an opportunity. The floor plates spread the weight, and the green roof
and pavers could cover roughly 4,500 to 5,000 square feet of the 14,200 square foot
total. It took a while to work out the details on the elevation, but CANY and the green roof
consultant from ZinCo figured
out a design that could work.

2. The Construction
Management Firm

Andrew Cucciniello,
Project Manager, CANY

What was the condition of the existing
roof?

The existing roof
was a modified bituminous system — a torch-applied sheet on the concrete deck
followed by layers of rigid insulation, topped with cover board and two more
plies of the mod bit. Judging by the wear, it had been down about 20 years. We
completed an investigation of the assembly, and found that it had failed in a
number of locations and water had infiltrated the layers. This was one of
the driving forces behind our recommendation for a full replacement aside from
any repair.

What is involved with the investigation?

Typical with any
investigation for us, we coordinate with an environmental consultant and an
independent agent, who cuts holes into the main roof frame down to the
structural deck so we can understand all the existing components. This also
gives us an opportunity to do material sampling and test for
asbestos-containing materials (ACMs). (There were none.)

Testing lets the demolition contractor know the extent of material
removal. Also, the environmental consultant is required to submit a laboratory
report and must notify the NY Department of Buildings before we can file for
permits. The city wants to
know there are no ACMs present, and if there are, the Department of
Environmental Protection will receive notification about the abatement
procedures.

What do you consider in specifying the
green roof waterproofing assembly?

When we get a
project like this, there are several different types of materials we can
consider. We try to analyze the use of the roof and what kind of traffic it
will experience in terms of mechanical equipment, people performing maintenance
and repairs, etc. Also, for a protective roof assembly, there can be NY Energy
Conservation Code requirements for insulation.

In this case, if
we were to go with a built-up roof (BUR) it would require drainage at the
surface, which would mean tapered insulation (likely a polyisocyanurate).
Tapered insulation would drive our base flashing height halfway up the parapet,
which we could not accommodate due to a scaffold track around the perimeter.

Nations Roof crews are acquainted with the challenges and procedures of working at height. In this photo, crew members are appropriately harnessed as they remove an old metal railing. Photo: Nations Roof LLC.

So we selected the
liquid-applied Kemperol 2K-PUR reinforced membrane system, which is
self-flashing and installs directly to the deck. Since it is a fully-adhered
system that can withstand ponding water, we did not have to design for slope. A
(non-tapered) rigid-styrene insulation board sits on top. Because the Kemperolmembrane is root resistant, a separate
root barrier was not required. There were also ongoing discussions with Kemper
System and ZinCo throughout our design process to assist with the final
overburden components.

Are inspections conducted during the construction
phase?

Our company
performs QC inspections throughout the course of construction. From existing
roof material removal and any preparation of substrates, as well as the new
roof installation, flashing details, and the overburden placement. We have been
involved with Kemper System for about two decades. With these roof assemblies
which offer a 20-year warranty, we conduct periodic inspections with Kemper
System to make sure the installation meets their warranty compliance
requirements. We were the applicant of record with the NY Department of Buildings, though, and are on board
until the project gets closed out.

3. The Installer

Michael Johannes, President, Nations Roof-East

Why was Nations Roof selected for this
green roof rather than an architectural landscape
company?

When a realty management
firm first looks at us as a roofing and waterproofing company, they see our
financial stability and our commitment to working safely. Nations Roof
consistently ranks in the top five roofing contractors in the U.S. We are
committed to delivering comprehensive roofing solutions. During any repair or
construction project, we understand the need to protect employees, guests and
valuable assets, and at the same time, to maintain business operations and
service levels throughout the project. This project was completed working
off-hours and through occupied spaces that needed to be ready for the next
workday without interruption.

Also, not a lot of
landscaping companies are going to carry the required levels of insurance
coverage without numerous exclusions for such things as building height. We work
constantly on projects from eight to 50 stories in the air installing roofing
systems both on new construction and renovations such as 1185 Avenue of the
Americas.

What about the quality of the waterproofing
installation?

1185 Avenue of the Americas in New York City earned a LEED Silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council and is one of the most efficient commercial office buildings in the nation. The property features expansive views and a green roof on the 44th floor.

Landscape
contractors are not generally authorized to install roofing and waterproofing
systems. Our foreman, project managers and installers are employees and most
have been with our company for years. Our crews are trained and experienced in
installing leak-free systems. That includes certified training by Kemper System
in the liquid-applied reinforced membrane system used on this project. Plus,
ZinCo provided guidance on installing the garden components and the transitions
to the interlocking paver walkways. We can supply a “finished turnkey
green-roof” with all the components, and provide the owner with a warranted
watertight installation.

Has Nations Roof
installed other green roofs in New York City?

Actually, we’ve done many garden roof installations. For example, we
successfully completed 100 Park Avenue with SL Green, which was a LEED Silver
project, and Via Verde, an affordable housing complex in the Bronx.

New York and Chicago are at the front of the green roof trend. Via Verde
was former N.Y. Mayor Michael Blomberg’s first initiative into green gardens
back in 2010, and they caught on. Most new roof projects we do in the city now
have some form of hardscape and softscape. It’s valuable space that in the past
has gone unused for the owner and the tenants. If you live or work in one of
these buildings, it’s nice to have a place you can go that is secure. When we
go to Via Verde now, we see mothers with baby strollers sitting and reading
books in what would have been just a roof a few years ago.

What do you see
for the future of green roofs?

We believe the market will continue to be strong for livable roof space
that improves the environment, and we will continue to be in the middle of that
with big developers. It is also the commitment and leadership of property
owners like SL Green to invest in these initiatives that will continue to drive
success.

4. Green Roof System Consultant and Manufacturer

Nick Smith,
National Account Manager, ZinCo USA

What are the
primary issues with installing a green roof at this height?

Any green roof installed at 500 feet can invite potential problems with
horticulture, erosion and exposure. Let’s focus on those three: To analyze
exposure, we recommend a wind study and sun/shade study, and CANY performed
these tests.

Wind uplift is a major
issue with the physical properties of the green roof. We are concerned with
getting the proper ballast. In this situation, a standard engineered-material
assembly would not be heavy enough to protect against a worst-case scenario.
The solution was to add significant weight to the assembly within the cups and
the drainage elements. The engineered growing media is also a bit heavier than
normal.

Wind scour, a horticultural
issue, is the plant’s ability to stay vital with continuous wind. We know after
looking at hundreds of studies that trouble spots most often occur around the
perimeter and at corners, where you get microcurrents of fast-moving or
swirling air. The conventional wisdom is that on a building over 500 feet tall
that is going to withstand serious wind 24 hours a day, plants simply won’t
grow at the perimeter and corners.

To combat erosion, we separated the vegetated area from the walkway deck
in many areas with an aluminum angled-edge. The aluminum barrier acts as a
separation for the way the wind moves. So we make sure the installer
understands that at the edge angle, the depth of the growing media must be
exactly compacted in the cup wells to 3 inches plus. A shallower depth may not
be significant at the center, but at the edge you must have that specificity in
quality control to safeguard against erosion.

Finally, once the plants are down, we place a “jute net” over the entire
assembly. Our erosion blanket is a biodegradable coco-fiber. It is really
important on the perimeter that the jute net is wrapped around the vegetation
and under the soil profile at full depth to make sure the plants have the best
chance.

What were some
other ways you adapted the green roof for this project?

One unusual thing is we infilled the drainage element with an aggregate.
That’s not totally uncommon on a green roof assembly, but it is on sedum. We
wouldn’t do that at a lesser height, but it served as ballasting. The
mineral-based aggregates we use also wick the water saved in the cups up into
the growing layer, which in this case had a slightly higher dry weight (28.9 pounds
per square foot) than a traditional assembly, again primarily for ballasting.

Dry weight always compromises nutritional content in the media. That means you can’t think strictly about weight, or you lose plant vitality. This was a balancing act we performed with CANY — to make sure proper weight was maintained for ballasting without undermining the needs for plant life, while also keeping the fully saturated weight within the load-bearing requirements of the structure.

What about the
installation?

Green roof design, engineering and global experience are important, but the success of a green roof also depends on the installation. We worked with Nations Roof on proper installation technique, both generally and specifically for this challenging installation, and they did a fantastic job.

Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources issued several Notices of Acceptance (NOA) for Polyglass’ PolyPUF Foam Systems, certifying the commercial roofing solution for use in high velocity hurricane zones.

“We are delighted to have the quality and safety of our Spray Polyurethane Foam System affirmed by Miami-Dade County, a Florida building code agency recognized nationally for its rigorous testing methods for building materials,” said Maury Alpert, codes and compliance manager at Polyglass U.S.A., Inc. “This certification allows us to provide roofing products and systems to roofers building in cities with extreme weather.”

PolyPUF is a closed cell sprayed in place polyurethane foam that acts as an air barrier, insulation and roofing system in a single application. The NOAsconfirm that PolyPUF (2.5, 2.8 and 3.0 lb densities) is designed and tested in accordance with Miami-Dade Product Control Section requirements and is approved for use over wood, steel, recover and concrete decks. Aside from its durability and long-term performance, PolyPUF offers a high R-value, which means greater potential for energy savings. To maximize the performance of PolyPUF apply Polyglass’ Miami-Dade approved PolyBrite 70, 90 or 95 roof coatings.

Elite Roofing Supply recently added branches in Monroe and Bossier City, LA; Tucson and Mesa, AZ; and Denver, CO to its list of branch locations and is scheduled to open Lynwood, CA on September 1, 2018. Founded in 2013, Elite’s mission is to provide roofers with an independent distributor that is knowledgeable in both commercial and residential roofing and committed to being good stewards in the industry and serving the professional roofing contractor community.

Recognizing the Louisiana market was underserved, Elite opened two strategically-placed locations in Bossier City and Monroe. The Bossier City branch with its 11 team members and fleet of three trucks, serves the surrounding Shreveport area and is operated by Managing Partner, Robert McCalman. Robert is from Bossier City and has been in the construction industry for 25 years, 14 of which have been in roofing distribution. The Monroe, LA location serves customers within a 100-mile radius of its location. Managing Partner and Branch Manager, Doug Norman, a Louisiana native, has a long history in the industry having worked in building product distribution as an owner and manager for over 35 years. He oversees a team of 12 highly skilled people and a fleet of four trucks to serve the area.

With its roots in Arizona, Elite’s growth with its Mesa and Tucson branches expands its opportunity to service this important market. The Tucson location is led by Managing Partner, Rick D’Alessio, a seasoned professional with over 30 years in the roofing and construction industry. This branch employs 11 people and operates four vehicles in its fleet. Paul LeFevre is the managing partner of the Mesa branch, overseeing a team of 14 people and a fleet of four vehicles. Paul has more than 30 years of industry experience starting in 1986 as a truck driver and quickly moving into an inside sales position. He ascended the ranks holding different positions such as Purchasing Manager, Manager of Procurement and Regional Manager for one of the larger distributors.

The Lynwood, CA branch is placed at a key location close to where I-105 meets I-710 to serve the South Los Angeles area. Managing Partner and Branch Manager, Rick Sasseen has been in the building products distribution industry for over 30 years. Working in various roles including driver, crane operator, inside sales, operations and management, Rick knows the business inside and out. A native Californian, Rick will oversee a team of 15 people at this location with its five trucks and looks forward to opening their doors in September.

Elites’ CEO and Chairman of the Board, Brian Torry says, “We open branches in markets where we find synergies with the right people who have expressed interest in joining the Elite family. Our goal is clear – to be the preeminent independent distributor west of the Mississippi, and our expansion plans are determined by the strong partners who wish to be part of our independent distribution culture.”

“Elite offers a unique value proposition to our customers,” commented Chief Operating Officer, Sarah Weiss. “Each branch’s managing partner has long-lasting relationships in their markets, understands the challenges of the business and is empowered to partner with customers and vendors to create winning scenarios for all involved. This year marks our fifth year in business and with 12 branches open and more to come, we remain committed to our philosophy of being a locally-owned distributor that provides a customized customer experience and a comprehensive line of quality roofing materials.”

Ridgeworth Roofing Company has launched a new website, www.ridgeworthroofing.com, to provide an even better user experience and showcase the company’s exceptional commercial, institutional, condominium, and industrial roofing projects.

“All of us at Ridgeworth Roofing are proud to have served the Chicagoland area for 44 years,” said Rodney Petrick, Owner and President. “We’re also proud to announce the launch of our new website, which is designed to provide our current and future customers with a wealth of information about how we can provide them with the best products and service available in the roofing industry today.”

The new website features a project gallery that includes photos and details of a wide range of roofing applications on buildings such as schools, warehouses, commercial buildings, and a 36-story Chicago high rise.

“We’re excited to present in even more detail the extensive skill and expertise of our team,” said Petrick.

Ridgeworth Roofing is a family-owned business, founded in 1974 by Petrick’s father, Robert Petrick. The business continues to thrive today, driven by the same passion and dedication to customer service that Robert Petrick brought to the company at its start.

“Our company is more than a business,” said Rodney Petrick. “It’s a family legacy. Every project we take on advances the tradition of excellence in both craftsmanship and customer service my dad started in 1974.”

Ridgeworth Roofing’s commitment to customer service extends into its dedication to the local community. In addition to offering superior service at a fair price, the company has provided materials and labor for a number of charitable roofing projects.

A leader in the industry, Petrick serves as a member of various professional committees and has held key positions in the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), the Chicago Roofing Contractors Association (CRCA), and the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA).

“Our new website is an attractive and engaging starting point for potential customers to see what we can do. We then encourage them to contact us about how we can solve their commercial or industrial roofing problems, no matter how complicated,” said Petrick.

Moser Roofing, a family owned business that provides award-winning installation and services to commercial properties in Lancaster, Lebanon, Dauphin, Berks, Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester counties, as well as the Mid-Atlantic states, recently contributed significant roofing repairs to the Queen Street facility of Mom’s House of Lancaster.

Mom’s House has served families across Lancaster County for over 27 years, specifically through offering child care services and educational and life skills support to single parents who desire to continue and complete their education.

Moser Roofing’s contribution allows Mom’s House to provide quality care to single parent families across Lancaster County move their families out of poverty and onto a path toward long-term economic stability.

“Mom’s House is honored to have the support of Moser Roofing. Their generosity fuels our mission and removes barriers to serve current and future families. We are so grateful to Moser Roofing Solutions, LLC!” said Sara Johns, Executive Director for Mom’s House.

“I want to personally thank you for the opportunity to serve you with in our community giveback program for roofing repairs.” said Josh Moser, President, Moser Roofing Solutions, LLC

Atlas EnergyShield Pro is a rigid insulation designed for commercial wall assemblies. With thousands of NFPA 285 approved assemblies, EnergyShield Pro can be used in a variety of wall configurations, according to the manufacturer. In addition, the product offers a high R-value and meets rigorous testing requirements for use as a weather-resistant barrier (WRB) and as an air barrier.

Available with foil or coated glass facers, EnergyShield Pro products offer options for vapor closed or vapor open designs. In addition, foil faced EnergyShield Pro is suitable for both exterior and interior exposed use. Glass-faced EnergyShield CGF Pro includes a dark gray facer on one side for open rain-screen designs. EnergyShield PlyPro offers a fire-treated plywood surface to make cladding fastening quick and easy. Choose the option that enhances the productivity on your project by saving material and labor.

The recently updated guide also includes special procedures for both low and steep-slope roofing systems, proper attic ventilation, ice dam protection, correct nailing methods, roof deck preparation, hip and ridge application, and underlayment, drip edge and flashing installation. As with all technical guidance, installers should also follow manufacturer’s recommended installation instructions. View a preview of the guide by clicking here.

“Three-tab shingles come in a variety of colors, styles and textures, but like with any asphalt roofing system, they have to be properly installed in order to achieve the best performance,” said Tim McQuillen, ARMA’s director of technical services, a 25-year building products industry veteran. “By converting the Good Application Guide: Three-Tab Shingles into an eBook, we can ensure contractors can access expert asphalt roofing installation techniques directly on their smartphone or tablet.”

The Good Application Guide: Three-Tab Shingles is available for $9.95 as a print-on-demand copy or $8.95 as an eBook from the ARMA Bookstore. It is also sold on other prominent digital platforms such as Amazon’s Kindle Store, Kobo, Barnes and Nobles’ Nook, Apple’s iBookstore and the Google Play store. To purchase the guide, visit www.asphaltroofing.org/arma-bookstore.

Ervin Yoder of Ridge & Valley Metals of Dover, Del., was selected randomly as the winner of a pallet of ProfileVent from Ventco.

Yoder was one of hundreds to sign up for the drawing at the Vento booth at the recent Frame Building Expo in Columbus, Ohio. “The drawing and our products attracted plenty of attention,” says Marty Rotter, owner of Ventco. “It was another great Frame Building Expo and we were happy to be a part of it. We’re guessing Ervin Yoder was happy he showed up, too!”

ProfileVent is a ventilation system for commercial and residential metal roofs and is a single-layer ridge vent on a roll. It’s a strong, durable modified polyester, non-woven, non-wicking fiber-based matting, designed specifically for metal roofs and cut to fit 47 metal roofing profiles.

The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety Research Center evaluates construction materials and systems in its state-of-the-art testing laboratories. Photos: Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

Until early October of this past year, Chester County, South Carolina, was home to a small, single-story house, similar to thousands of houses across the United States, but unique in almost every way.

What made this small structure one of a kind? The house sat inside the large test chamber at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Research Center, dwarfed by the six-story chamber’s cavernous interior. The house was built, in fact, to be destroyed.

On Oct. 5, the staff of the IBHS Research Center focused the test chamber’s intense destructive wind power, generated by 105 super-sized fans, on the small structure. Prior to the test, the center had digitized the wind record of an actual storm, and the wind speeds produced by the fans were varied accordingly. In the case of the simulated storm in early October, wind speeds were increased in three phases, up to 120 miles an hour. The house experienced significant damage to its walls and interior, and the garage door was ripped off. But the roof, built to IBHS’ recommended standards, held firm.

The IBHS research facility, which opened in 2010 and is funded by property insurers, evaluates various residential and commercial construction materials and systems. The lab is the only lab in the world that can unleash the power of highly realistic windstorms, wind-driven rain, hailstorms and wildfire ember storms on full-scale one- and two-story residential and commercial buildings in a controlled, repeatable fashion.

The mission of IBHS is to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters. And much of its research, like its attack on this small house last October, has focused, at least in part, on the resilience of roofs. As IBHS President and CEO Julie Rochman has noted, “The roof is your first line of defense against anything Mother Nature inflicts … and during a bad storm your roof endures fierce pressure from wind, rain, and flying debris.”

Educating the Industry

In May of 2017, the EPDM Roofing Association (ERA) launched a microsite to help educate the construction industry about the increasing need for resilience in the built environment, and the contributions that EPDM roofing membrane can make to a

IBHS conducts hail research in the Laboratory Building for Small Tests, where hailstones of various sizes are recreated and propelled against roof samples. Photos: Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

resilient system. That effort came in response to the increasing number of extreme weather events. Since last May when ERA first launched its resilience microsite, the pattern of extreme weather has continued unabated, in the form of wildfires throughout the west which were exacerbated by extreme heat, and Hurricanes Harvey and Irma which left devastating floods and wind damage in their wake.

For more than a decade, ERA leadership has supported research about factors that contribute to the resilience of EPDM as a membrane, and how it best functions in various roofing systems. More recently, ERA has invested in site-visits to leading research organizations that generate science-based data about resiliency in building systems, first to Oak Ridge National Laboratories, near Knoxville, Tennessee, and then to the National Research Energy Laboratories (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. Given the complementary goals of ERA and IBHS to help support the creation of truly resilient buildings, ERA leadership welcomed the opportunity to visit the South Carolina research facility.

Analyzing Hail Damage

The hail research at IBHS was of special interest to ERA, given ERA’s research that has consistently shown that EPDM membrane offers exceptionally strong resistance against hail damage. Based on field and test data sponsored by ERA, EPDM roof membranes outperform other roof systems in terms of hail protection. In 2007, ERA conducted tests which showed that EPDM roofing membranes did not suffer membrane damage and avoided leaking problems endemic to other roofing surfaces in similar circumstances. Of the 81 targets installed for that research over different surfaces, 76 did not fail when impacted with hail ice balls up to three inches in diameter. Perhaps most importantly, the impact resistance of both field-aged and heat-aged membranes in this test also clearly demonstrated that EPDM retains the bulk of its impact resistance as it ages.

The IBHS Research Center’s super-sized fans can recreate winds to measure their effects on full-scale one- and two-story residential and commercial buildings. Photos: Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

Using this ERA-generated research as a starting point, ERA leadership travelled to IBHS with specific questions in mind, including: What has IBHS research revealed about the impact of hail on various types of roofing membranes and systems? Does the IBHS research reinforce or contradict ERA’s findings? What are the next questions to be asked about the damage that hail can do, and are resilient systems cost-effective?

Hail research at IBHS is conducted in the Laboratory Building for Small Tests, a compact structure with equipment appropriate to replicate large hailstones and hurl them at roof samples. As part of its research, IBHS has worked with the National Weather Service to assess the geographic locations threatened by hail. Individual storms have long been recognized as creating widespread and expensive destruction, but is hail a threat that is confined to just a few specific geographic areas of the country?

In fact, more than 75 percent of the cities in the United States experience at least one hailstorm a year, and the risk extends across the country to all areas east of the Rockies. Annually, hail losses reach more than 1 billion dollars. The IBHS has identified the factors that contribute to the extent of hailstorm damage, with the impact resistance of roofing materials being one of the most critical factors, along with hailstone size, density and hardness. Likewise, the roof is one of the components most vulnerable to hail. Analysis of property damage resulting from a hailstorm in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2011 found that roof losses accounted for 75 percent of property damage in the area, and more than 90 percent of damage payouts.

In their efforts to replicate the true nature of hail, the staff at IBHS has conducted extensive fieldwork, and travelled widely around the United States to gather actual hailstones immediately after a storm. Over the last five years, the IBHS hail team has collected more than 3,500 hailstones, focusing on their dimensions, mass and compressive stress. The stones range from .04 inches in diameter to well over four inches. In addition, IBHS has conducted three-D scans of more than one hundred stones to further educate themselves about the true nature of hailstones, and how they contribute to the overall damage inflicted by hailstorms.

The research findings of IBHS reinforce or complement those of ERA. IBHS has found that unsupported roofing materials perform poorly and ballasted low-slope roofs perform especially well in hailstorms because they disperse energy. IBHS recommends that builders use systems that have impact resistance approval, including their own fortified standard. While IBHS found that newer roofing membranes perform better than older membranes, ERA studies found that new, heat-aged and field-aged EPDM membranes all offered a high degree of hail resistance, demonstrating that EPDM retains the bulk of its impact resistance as it ages.

Both organizations stress that resilient roofing systems in new and retrofitted construction can make good financial sense. According to Julie Rochman of IBHS, “We are really going to continue focusing on moving our culture from one that is focused on post-disaster response and recovery to pre-disaster investment and loss-mitigation … we’re going to be very focused on getting the roofs right in this country.”

For the members of ERA, “getting the roof right” has long been a dominant focus of their businesses. Now, in the face of increasingly frequent and extreme weather events, getting the roof right means gathering up-to-the-minute research about resilient systems, and putting that research to work to create resilient roofs.

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March/April 2019

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About Roofing

Roofing is a national publication that unravels, investigates and analyzes how to properly design, install and maintain a roof system. Through the voices of professionals in the field, Roofing’s editorial provides a unique perspective.